Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - We had plenty of warning, and the National Weather Service was spot-on with its forecast of heavy snow, and with it came the city snowplows.

I spoke with Brian Hensel, Deputy Public Works Director for Streets about the regular routes that the snowplows take after every snowfall.

The Missoula City Snowplows are Getting the Job Done

“Through the week, we'll have four different crews running around the clock until Friday night at 10 pm on any given week,” began Hensel. “Then, on weekends, we'll run a smaller crew on standby, usually anywhere between four and seven crews available to do priorities on weekends, but during the week, we're at full capacity.”

Hensel laid out the priority routes for the city snowplows.

Hensel Said There are Priorities One and Two for Plowing

“At the onset of any snow event, we will start on our Priority Ones, which are typically the main routes or streets with steep grades to them, like, for example, up the Rattlesnake, Van Buren, and all the way to the end of Grant Creek, up to the end of the city limits, and then up Gharrett, 23rd and Hillview Way,” he said. “Those are all priority ones, including Reserve Street, Higgins and Brooks. All these streets either have high traffic volumes or steep grades.”

Hensel then laid out the lesser-priority plowing routes.

“The crews will work on those priority ones until they're safe, and then they'll move to their priority twos, which include plowing, sanding, deicing, and so on,” he said. “Then, during the regular work week, Monday through Friday, we have our five pickup plows, and they only work on the local streets, and they're all assigned different areas. They'll start at one side of the area, say, at one (snow) event, and then with the next event, they'll start at the other side, so that we try to give equal service to the neighborhoods throughout the winter.”

Hensel Asks Please Don't Shovel Your Snow into the Street

Hensel has a special request for homeowners dealing with the snow on their driveways and sidewalks.

“What's always difficult for us is people are clearing their driveways, sidewalks, mailboxes, what have you,” he said. “Try not to throw the snow back out in the street. If you're doing your driveway, throw it on the sides of your grass. Extra snow, and extra water, are good for your lawn. It just makes it more difficult for us when people are throwing that snow into the street, and then it reduces the storage area available for the plows to push the snow over to the edge into the curb lines.”

Click here to find all the details about the City of Missoula snowplows and schedules.

LOOK: Biggest snowfalls recorded in Montana history

Stacker compiled a list of the biggest 1-day snowfalls in Montana using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Gallery Credit: Stacker